S Korea claims East Asia’s oldest farming site

The remains of an old farm house in Goseong, 150 kilometers east of Seoul.

Seoul - South Korea's archaeological agency says it has unearthed evidence of East Asia's oldest known farming site.

Archaeologist Cho Mi-soon said on Wednesday that the agency has found the remains of a farming field from the Neolithic period on South Korea's east coast. The site may be up to 5,600 years old. That's more than 2,000 years older than what is now the second-oldest known site, which also is in South Korea.

During the Neolithic period humans began living in permanent settlements and farming after a previous nomadic existence of hunting and gathering.

Cho points to traces of pottery and house remains found at the site as proof of its age. She says material was tested and determined to be from the Neolithic period. - Sapa-AP